Fire-extinguisher



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDIVARD M. PARKER AND WILLIAM H. COIJLSON, OF JERSEY CITY,

NEW JERSEY.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,703, dated March 9,1897.

Application led April 27, 1896. Serial No. 589,197. (No model.)

To all, whom t may concern:

Be it known that We, EDWARD M. PARKER and WILLIAM H. CoULsoN, citizensof the United States, residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudsonand State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement inFire-Extinguishers, of Which the following is a specification.

Portable fire-extinguishers have heretofore been constructed of avessel, usually cylindrical and of suflicient strength to withstandconsiderable pressure, and a liquid, such as salt and water, has beenintroduced into such vessel together with a gas under pressure, such ascarbonio acid, so that liquid is projected with force from thedischarge-nozzle, and in some instances iire-eXtinguishers of thischaracter have had chemical substances introduced with the liquid, thecombination of which causes the development of gas for driving out theliquid contents; but difculty has arisen in effecting the properdelivery of the liquid under the different conditions of use; that is tosay, in some extinguishers when the jet is directed upward nothing butwater charged with gas escapes, and when directed downward the gasescapes without the water. This of course is objectionable, because thecharacter of the materials discharged cannot be depended upon.

The objects of the present invention are, irst, to secure uniformity inthe discharge of the gaseous and liquid materials from the eX-tinguisher, and, second, to provide a discharge-head that can beoperated by hand or that becomes automatic in case the temperature ofthe room or space in which the fireextinguisher is located rises abovethe melting point of the fusible alloy.

By the aforesaid improvement we are enabled to construct an apparatusthat can be used by hand and the liquid and gaseous materials dischargedwith uniformity and in any direct-ion, and when the apparatus is placedor hung in a building for the protection of goods or the extinguishmentof iire where the temperature is liable to reach a danger-point or wherethere may be an incipient conflagration the fusible material ofthe headbecomes softened and the hre-extinguishing liquid and gas are dischargedautomatically.

In the drawings, Figure l is a section of the apparatus; and Fig. 2 is across-section at right angles to Fig. l, showing the construction of thehead in larger size.

The vessel A is of any desired size or shape, advantageouslycylindrical, with suitable heads or ends, and at one end is thedischarge-head B, and there is usually a` supply-pipe C, containing acheck-valve, so that the liquid or gas, or both, may be forced into theapparatus under pressure for charging the same, the valve closingautomatically. This supply-pipe and valve may be of any desiredcharacter and may be placed upon any' part of the apparatus.

Within the vessel A are the pipes D and E, which are brought together atone common tube or exit 3, which leads to the plug or valve 4 in thedischarge-head B, which plug or valve is to be actuated by hand, so thatthe contents may be discharged by the jettube 5, which may be providedwith one or numerous openings for the liquid and gases to pass to there.

The pipes D and E open near the opposite ends of the vessel A, that isto say, the pipe D may be substantially straight and the pipe E bentaround, so that its open end is near its discharge end; and it Will beapparent that if the extinguisher is held at a vertical or at an upwardinclination the liquid will pass through the pipe D and the gas throughthe pipe E, and the two will meet together and the discharge of the gaswill act as a suction to draw the liquid through the pipe D, and the twowill pass through the discharge cock or valve 4, and if the apparatus isheld at a downward inclination the water will pass through the pipe Eand the gas through the pipe D, and the latter will aid in drawing theliquid through the pipe E, and hence the discharge willbe substantiallythe same regardless of the position of the apparatus.

Ve surround the plug or cock 4 with a perforated casing 6, the spacethat is inclosed by the same being open to the exit-pipe 3, and theperforations in this casing are to be closed by fusible material, suchas a fusible alloy, melting at the desired temperature, usually about130o Fahrenheit, so that whenever the apparatus is exposed to anabnormal temper- IOO ature the fusible material in the perforations ofthe casing will be softened and the perforations blown open by thepressure of the iuid Within the extinguisher, and the shape of theperforated casing and the positions of the openings in the same shouldvary according to the place Where the fire-extinguisher is to be locatedand the direction in which the uids are to issue in case of an incipientconflagration, so that this apparatus provided with the discharge-headconstructed as aforesaid is adapted to use by hand and also as anautomatic extinguisher in the presence of an excessive temperature.

It Will be apparent that the tube E may be short and straight, so thatthe discharge may be direct, but usually it is preferable to make thetubes D and E substantially alike, so that the materials Will travel auniform or nearly uniform distance in reaching the outlet.

We claim as our inventionl. The combination with the holdin g vessel ina fire-extinguisher of tWo pipes coming closely together at one end andopening into a common discharge, the other ends of such pipes openingWithin and near the respective ends of the vessel so that the dischargeof gas by either pipe promotes the discharge of liquid by the otherpipe, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the fire eXtinguishing vessel A to containsuitable uids under pressure, of the exit-pipe 3 and a cock or valve,the pipe D substantially straight and reaching to near the distant endof the vessel A, the pipe E that is bent With its receiving end near theexit-pipe A so that the apparatus is adapted to discharge the fluidcontents With uniformity When held in any desired position,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the vessel holding lire-extinguishing material,of a dischargehead having at one end an opening leading into the vessel,a plug or cock With a surrounding barrel and a discharge or jet tube, aperforated casing around the cock, the space inclosed by the same beingopen to the pipe leading into the vessel holding fire-extinguishingmaterial, there being fusible material Within the perforations in thecasing so that the contents of such fire-extinguishing vessel candischarge through the perforated casing when the temperature risessufficiently and independently of the cock or valve, substantially asset forth.

4. The combination With the vessel forholding fluids under pressure, ofa discharge-head having avalve or cock to be actuated by hand, and aperforated casing around the same and easily-fused material in theperforations, the interior of the casing opening into the pipe leadingto the cock or valve, and pipes within the holding vessel that cometogether at one end in the pipe leading to the plug or cock and theother ends of such pipes open near the respective ends of the holdingvessel, substantially as set forth.

Signed by us this 22d day of April, 1896.

EDVD. M. PARKER. VILLIAM H. COULSON.

Titnessesz Gno. T. PINCKNEY, S. T. HAVILAND.

